Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the world's highest railway bridge, a new step to strengthen Kashmir's connection to India.
The bridge, 1,315 meters long and costing over $160 million, is part of a project to establish the first railway line connecting Kashmir to other Indian regions.
The Chenab arch bridge took several decades to build and stands 359 meters (about 1,180 feet) tall over the river of the same name, making it 29 meters higher than the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
The opening, on Friday, of a massive engineering project spanning a mountain valley in Kashmir, came just weeks after a deadly attack targeting tourists in the Himalayas, sparking brief clashes between India and Pakistan.
This was Modi's first visit to Indian-administered Kashmir since the military escalation between the two countries last April, when India and Pakistan —the two nuclear-armed neighbors—exchanged missile, drone, and artillery fire over four days. New Delhi accused Pakistan of being behind the attack, a charge Islamabad denied.
As part of its nationalist policies, the Modi government has taken steps to integrate Muslim-majority Kashmir with the rest of India, including revoking the constitutional provision that granted it autonomy in 2019.
India, Pakistan, and China are competing for control of Kashmir, with each country administering a portion of it, making it one of the most militarized regions in the world.
In addition to the Chenab Bridge, Modi inaugurated the railway link project, which connects major cities in Indian-administered Kashmir to the national transport network.
This project is part of Modi's vision, as he came to power more than a decade ago on a nationalist platform promising to achieve Indian renaissance. Infrastructure projects such as the bridge and railway are being used as tools to promote social integration and political influence.
Since taking office in 2014, Modi has expanded road and rail networks in the region, connecting remote cities to major urban centers. In 2019, his government revoked Kashmir's constitutional autonomy, transforming the southern and eastern regions into federal territories under the direct administration of New Delhi, claiming the decision would promote stability, reduce corruption, and revive the economy.
The Chenab Bridge represents a landmark achievement for the Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, which continues to implement major projects in the Himalayan region, including tunnels and highways. However, some environmental activists warn that these projects could harm the fragile environment, which is already suffering from the effects of climate change.
